Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The United States is concerned that Pakistan may have given China access to the high-tech helicopter that crashed in the U.S. raid on Osama bin Laden 's compound , a U.S. official said Monday .

`` We have reason to suspect China was given access but we can not confirm it definitively , '' said a U.S. official who is not authorized to discuss intelligence matters publicly . `` We have strong suspicions . ''

The comment came after news reports suggested Pakistani authorities may have allowed Chinese engineers to see the stealth aircraft . Pakistan 's military has denied the allegation , saying there is `` no truth to the report . ''

In a written statement , Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told CNN the claim is part of a `` malicious campaign '' against Pakistan 's security forces . Abbas `` expressed his astonishment at the far-fetched reporting of certain foreign media outlets , '' the statement said .

Officials at the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment .

The Financial Times newspaper in London reported that it had learned that Pakistan `` allowed Chinese military engineers to photograph and take samples from the top-secret stealth helicopter . '' It added that `` people close to the White House and the Central Intelligence Agency '' told the paper that `` the Chinese were in fact given access to the helicopter . '' China declined to comment , the article said .

The New York Times reported that `` Pakistan 's intelligence service probably allowed Chinese military engineers to examine the wreckage , '' citing `` American officials and others familiar with the classified intelligence assessments . '' It noted that the `` American assessments were disclosed '' by The Financial Times .

When the aircraft crashed during the raid that killed the al Qaeda leader in May , Navy SEALs destroyed most of it to protect the technology . But the tail section remained mostly intact and it was that area that the Chinese engineers examined , according to the New York Times report .

China and Pakistan enjoy a long-standing military relationship , and the May raid that killed bin Laden -- staged without informing the Pakistani government -- stoked tensions between Washington and Islamabad . In July , the United States said it was withholding $ 800 million in aid to Pakistan .

`` They 've taken some steps that have given us reason to pause on some of the aid which we 're giving to the military , and we 're trying to work through that , '' White House Chief of Staff William Daley said at the time .

CNN 's Barbara Starr , Reza Sayah , and Josh Levs contributed to this report .

@highlight

NEW : Pakistani official : The claim is part of a `` malicious campaign ''

@highlight

U.S. official : `` We have strong suspicions ''

@highlight

Tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan were stoked by the secret U.S. raid